Post AmGDfgDBT35Z4hemjg by jacquiharper@mastodon.world
(DIR) More posts by jacquiharper@mastodon.world
(DIR) Post #AmG8fSjl4AdfVsyDA0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T10:56:02Z
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I have a kind of horrible teaching schedule this year because I didn't want to teach middle school math. So, instead of teaching two sections of a course with all the lesson plans ready I have THREE DIFFERENT middle school computer science and tech class where I have to make all new material. A lot of work, but more fun and creative. And once I have the lessons it'll be easier. But, I'm questioning my distaste for middle school math. I mean fractions are fun. But you can't get too complex.
(DIR) Post #AmG8shKI8R5kWeMxwu by RosyMaths@mathstodon.xyz
2024-09-22T10:58:20Z
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@futurebird Even making all-new materials for one class is hectic. But 3! Wow.I also teach middle school computer science. Happy to share resources.
(DIR) Post #AmG8vSGIbIVGfmogy0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T10:58:55Z
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What's wild is that I also teach upper school courses, calculus, statistics... but these are the easiest to prep for since I've taught them before and it's mostly about getting to know the students and tweaking things so they work for the current class. I'm trying to decide if I'll keep doing this next year or stomp my feet and demand to teach fewer subjects. I love doing projects with the students. So, if I don't die from all this lesson planning maybe I'll still with the "chaos schedule"
(DIR) Post #AmG9B0CkgUSSHwZTH6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T11:01:43Z
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I think I don't want to teach middle school math because that is when math almost lost me forever. Not being able to use a calculator was absurd to me. After I proved I could do the algorithms WHY did I have to keep suffering and doing little sums in my head and wondering what 7*8 was 54? 56? ugh.I don't want to be responsible for making math tedious for anyone. That's criminal.
(DIR) Post #AmG9RqJahuFsXTnfsW by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-09-22T11:04:49Z
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@futurebird Very "fortunately" I have it all memorized from 2x2 up to 9x9.I don't think that this was an enriching or engaging part of how I was taught, though.
(DIR) Post #AmG9W2tNt3NEhmXvlY by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T11:05:32Z
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@futurebird if one complex is a + b𝓲 , is two complex a + b𝓲 + c𝓳 + d𝓴 ?
(DIR) Post #AmG9f56B3MLi9cq3SC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T11:07:08Z
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@RosyMaths I mostly need ideas for fun projects. And there is a lot of leeway for what I do. They don't need to be on the computer all the time and I'm happy if they aren't.For example I had them count in binary by making index cards with 1,2,8,16 and 32 dots. Each student holds one or two cards and one of them counts. They have to hold up the cards so it's the binary sum.They really like this game and have gotten competitive about going fast.
(DIR) Post #AmG9nRZrMTsYBgi4dU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T11:08:41Z
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This school is interesting because I will have a student in middle school CS but then see them years later in Calculus as a Junior. I wonder what it's like to have the same math and CS teachers popping up through your education like that...
(DIR) Post #AmGA7oYRduCRF2lHHM by GreenSkyOverMe@ohai.social
2024-09-22T11:12:22Z
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@futurebird We usually have the same teacher for e.g. math many years in a row
(DIR) Post #AmGAhwnoSFSfFNBBDs by hal_pomeranz@infosec.exchange
2024-09-22T11:18:47Z
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@futurebird I can’t blame you for wanting to duck modern math curricula. I’m a “math nerd” (have a BA in Math to prove it) and even I was frustrated at how math was taught in grade school. And I’m even more frustrated with how our kids are learning it.It doesn’t take much to make math even a little bit engaging. Show kids the fun relationships of math to their world—how it’s a “cheat code” for figuring things out. Not “How many hours at minimum wage must Mary work to afford pizza and a movie on the weekend?”At least in my experience, the big problem is that math is mostly taught by people who hate math and/or are doing it under duress.
(DIR) Post #AmGCuk07YrZJDVAGMi by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T11:43:37Z
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@futurebird when I took classes at a community college, I learned two of the math professors had also taught math classes at high schools I had been to. I didn't have any classes from them though; I learned this from another student, who had had both them in high school and again in college. And the guy I had for pre-algebra in 5th grade had taught at the university I transfered to after I was done with the community college, but by then he was no longer at the university.
(DIR) Post #AmGD1Yjlq0pSJHlg6i by sbourne@mastodon.social
2024-09-22T11:44:51Z
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@futurebird If they're good, it's wonderful. And at the very least, it reduces stress because you already know their teaching style.
(DIR) Post #AmGDVtMlhj5QyeTMu0 by TheOtterDragon@eldritch.cafe
2024-09-22T11:50:18Z
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@futurebird I had the same problem with teaching french (in a french-speaking country). The way we're supposed to teach it would make most people hate the subject.
(DIR) Post #AmGDfgDBT35Z4hemjg by jacquiharper@mastodon.world
2024-09-22T11:52:05Z
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@futurebird Reassuring I would think
(DIR) Post #AmGFJZEKwYSgxZmP3I by simrob@social.wub.site
2024-09-22T12:10:29Z
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@futurebird 7*8 and 6*7 - those were the only ones I couldn’t ever come up with a shorthand algorithm for and instead just had to memorize.I used to say the times tables were my hardest academic challenge in math. When I completed my CS Ph.D. I revised that to second hardest.
(DIR) Post #AmGGwy80PK1TQYAcXQ by LShashaty@sfba.social
2024-09-22T12:28:48Z
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@futurebird This one was so traumatic for me that I taught all 3 of my kids "seven eights are fiftysix" as a mantra as soon as toddlers.
(DIR) Post #AmGKrFVnGJGZQ9pDYO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T13:12:29Z
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@dillyd There is no "rule" for either number and both are greater than 5 which is the largest number that most people can subtize (recognize without counting)So, you either need to break it into sums and count or simply have it memorized. But there isn't much memorable about 56.To this day I think 54? No 5+4 is 9 so that can't be right. Then settle on 56 not feeling very confident.
(DIR) Post #AmGL4rHS9NHkK5bgNU by itty53@beige.party
2024-09-22T13:15:04Z
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@futurebird @dillyd "5678". That's how I remembered it. Never forgot that one.
(DIR) Post #AmGNBKy0tCfi2WjOFc by catselbow@fosstodon.org
2024-09-22T13:38:34Z
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@futurebird I've been grading homework this morning. I teach beginning programming to undergrads with little or no previous programming experience. One thing I notice every semester is that many students use way more parentheses than they need to. I'll see expressions like this:a = ((2)*(pi))*((r)*(r)))I point out that the usual PEMDAS rules apply, and they seem to know what that means, but there's a tangible fear of relying on those rules. Do you see the same thing in your math or CS class?
(DIR) Post #AmGNK0rD1gtoHDgYL2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T13:39:58Z
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@catselbow No... my students use too few parenthesis. LOL. Though the way that various systems will apply such rules can make students nervous. I think it's good that your students are paying attention.
(DIR) Post #AmGO1BZN4eFzx6vbhA by catselbow@fosstodon.org
2024-09-22T13:48:03Z
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@futurebird I agree. I don't criticise them for this, but I point out that they could save themselves some typing (and make their code more readable!).
(DIR) Post #AmGPlsK8XxGbpMd63c by eric@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T14:07:31Z
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@futurebird I was in that same boat - sometimes teaching the same student through multiple math and programming courses all through junior high and high school. I loved it - you really get to know the students and their different strengths ABS weaknesses!
(DIR) Post #AmGRoOtSckI3KPU48W by JeremyMallin@autistics.life
2024-09-22T14:30:32Z
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@futurebird I had the same teacher for algebra and trigonometry. I don't know what it was like for him though. I didn't think much of it at the time, but some of my classmates seemed to like it. I think they liked the familiarity they had with him.
(DIR) Post #AmH2SIxLiMl8qad7Bo by lufthans@mastodon.social
2024-09-22T21:21:07Z
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@futurebird a blessing when it's a good teacher who cares about them :)
(DIR) Post #AmH7AA0sj2JjfYRwPY by ShadSterling@mastodon.social
2024-09-22T22:13:53Z
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@futurebird the thing I hated in middle school was the zillions of worksheets where I couldn’t possibly learn anything because I already knew the relevant things. Years later it struck me that what those worksheets were good for was training, not education, and if someone had said so I might have been able to shift mental gears and embrace building the skill
(DIR) Post #AmKV2dWA7ojnEWuDpo by RosyMaths@mathstodon.xyz
2024-09-24T13:25:31Z
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@futurebird That's cool!